Girl, 12, Among 6 Dead in 3-Car Crash on Texas Highway: 'A Pretty Drastic Scene,' Official Says
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Six people are dead after a minivan crashed into an SUV, which was then rear-ended by a sedan, on a Texas Highway Friday.
The accident happened near George West about 60 miles northwest of Corpus Christi, the Associated Press reported.
"It was a pretty drastic scene," Sgt. Guadalupe Casarez of the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) told the news outlet.
The minivan was traveling south Friday around 6:20 p.m. when it reportedly tried to pass another vehicle in a no-passing zone. It then collided head-on with the SUV, which was heading north, before it was hit by the third vehicle.
The crash was still under investigation Monday, the Texas DPS said in a news release.
The driver of the minivan, Xochitl Veronica Lopez, 39, of Houston, died at the scene, along with her 12-year-old daughter Sulema, KHOU 11 reported. Two other children in the van, a 5-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl, were taken to the hospital with broken bones, family members told the news outlet.
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Lopez's daughter, Kimberly Reyes, told KHOU 11 that her mom and three siblings were on the way to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, just across the Texas border to visit family.
Reyes told the station her mother "wouldn't put anyone in danger and would never put her kids in danger." She also described Lopez as a wonderful person who was always helping others, according to the outlet.
"A great friend; did everything in her power to help you even if she didn't know you; an extremely giant heart," Reyes said of Lopez. "She's just an amazing person."
Reyes described Sulema to KHOU 11 as an energetic 7th grader at Marshall Middle School who loved meeting people and "was friends with everyone."
In addition, three Ganado, Texas, residents were killed, including the driver of the SUV, Salvador Almeda Mendoza, 47, and his two passengers, Ilda Briones Nieves, 58, and Honorio Lazo Navarro, 74, the AP reported.
The sixth person killed was a passenger in the sedan whose name has not been released, according to the AP.
In addition to Lopez's two children, three other people were taken to a hospital with "non-incapacitating injuries," the DPS said.
The vehicle that was being passed was not hit in the crash, Casarez told the AP. He also said authorities don't believe that alcohol was a factor in the deadly accident.
